See this: Shoes, Pleasure and Pain

Shoes: Pleasure and Painopened at the V&A last Saturday and is an extensive and informative guide to the history and culture of footwear.

The exhibition was curated by Helen Persson, who specialises in textiles and dress in the V&A’s Asian department and features designs from the museum’s archives, along with loans from individuals and institutions – some of which have never before left their country of origin.

The collection of over 250 pairs of shoes, ranging from 2,000 years, from 20 countries and including 70 designers, celebrates the significance of shoes that portray a powerful indicator of gender, status, identity and even sexual preference.

curator Helen Persson with the Swarovski slipper created for the Cinderella film

Shoes worn by or associated with high profile figures including Marilyn Monroe, Queen Victoria, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lady Gaga, Kylie Minogue and the Hon Daphne Guinness are on show as well as famous shoes, such as the ballet slippers designed for Moira Shearer in the 1948 film The Red Shoes.